If you didn’t already know it, Ted and I have a sailboat that we enjoy sailing and taking people sailing on. We’ve had it twenty plus years now. Since Ted is ‘semi-retired’ now, he has much more time to spend on fixing things on the sailboat – little things that have been neglected or need freshening up. We’ve gotten new sails, new lifelines, new cushions, as well as fixes for little drips here and there, and lots of cleaning and shining. One issue that needed attention was the toilet – the valves that stopped back-flow were a little leaky and old so Ted decided to get replacement parts and tighten up those pipes and connections! One sunny afternoon he decided to take on the issue. I quietly sat and watched as I tried not to talk and interrupt his concentration. He had it taken apart, was washing old parts, reading instructions, and sorting out new parts to replace and put together. I captured the moment:

Watching him made me think.

I wonder how it was when God created the world and everything. I tried to imagine him with parts all over the place and instructions in His hands. Considering how many ‘parts’ there are and all that would have to be constructed, it would be quite a daunting task! But my view of God with parts and instructions is flawed as it comes from an earthly mind with limited earthly and man-made design. Fortunately, we are studying the book of Genesis with our current church sermon series and I got to read and take another look at the creation story. In chapter one of Genesis, all God had to do was say “Let there be … ” and it happened! Let there be light – BOOM! – and there was light. Let the land produce vegetation and – POOF! – things were growing. Let the waters teem with living creatures and the sky with birds and the land with living creatures – TA-DAH! and the earth was teeming with life! Then God said “Let us make mankind in our own image” and here we are! All God had to do was speak it – and it was so. And the bestest greatest part is that after everything He created, he stood back and looked at what He had done and declared that it WAS GOOD. In fact, when He was all done creating, he stated that it was VERY GOOD.

When Ted had all the parts back together – the toilet was still not right. One of the replacement gaskets didn’t fit quite right and things leaked worse than before. Obviously, the replacement parts weren’t enough (and didn’t fit right) so he ordered a whole replacement unit of the valves and toilet pumping system – and it works great now!

I remember a former pastor, in talking about creation vs evolution, once described how if you took say, a pocket watch apart, and put all the pieces in a jar, then tumbled that jar around for years and centuries and forever – would those parts finally and coincidentally put themselves together and form a pocket watch? His point – do you really think that the universe just tumbled around with parts and metals and substances, and elements and they just all coincidentally formed the planets and all life on earth? NO! Life was CREATED by a CREATOR. It was done with creativity and design and just the way God intended. IT WAS GOOD. VERY GOOD.

God did not have leftover parts, nor parts that didn’t go together right. He formed things just the way he wanted. What a wonderful thought and reminder for us! God made YOU just the way HE wanted and with purpose. The parts all fit together just the way he wanted. No extra or leftover parts. And to look at the bigger picture, when we struggle with the craziness of this world, isn’t it comforting to know that God has a plan and purpose for all things?

YOU were created by God. You weren’t a coincidence or an accident. God thought you up without the need for any instruction manual. He thought you up and – here you are!

just Laurel

Genesis 1:1-5 NIV In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Colossians 1:16 ESV For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

John 1:1-3 ESV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.